UK Offence Report

Power to require information, etc.

article 35(2) of The Wye Navigation Order 2002

This offence was read from the text as made, and no revised version was available, so a later revocation could not be ruled out. Check the current text at legislation.gov.uk.

What the provision says

2 A person who fails without reasonable excuse to give information demanded under paragraph (1), or in giving it makes any statement which he knows to be false in

a material particular, or recklessly makes any statement which is false in

a material particular, shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to

a fine not exceeding level

2 on the standard scale.

Text as made, from legislation.gov.uk. © Crown copyright, reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.

Who it binds, and what has to be proved

Binds
a person
Conduct
making a false or misleading statement
Fault element
Requires proof of a state of mind
Burden of proof
An element of the offence, for the prosecution to prove

The prosecution must prove both that the conduct happened and that it was done with the state of mind the provision names (recklessly).

“Without reasonable excuse” here is an element of the offence rather than a defence, so its absence is for the prosecution to prove (R v Charles [2009] EWCA Crim 1570).

Classifier’s reasoning: mens rea word in the offence-creating words: recklessly; qualified by reasonable excuse (an element; prosecution disproves once raised).

The defence, as drafted

2 A person who fails without reasonable excuse to give information demanded under paragraph (1), or in giving it makes any statement which he knows to be false in a material particular, or recklessly makes any statement which is false in a material particular, shall be guilty of an offence and liable on s

What would breach article 35(2)?

These are illustrations, not law. They are generated from the provision’s own words to show the shape of the offence. Whether any particular conduct is caught depends on the full text, on any amendment since, and on the facts.

  1. Entering a figure on a form or return that is known to be wrong under the Wye Navigation Order 2002.
  2. Leaving out something the form asks for, where the omission is what makes the answer misleading.
  3. Producing a document to an official that has been altered since it was issued.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Summary only — tried in a magistrates’ court
Maximum fine
£500
Standard scale
Level 2
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

Sentencing

Offences of this kind are usually sentenced under the guidelines below. This is a mapping by subject, not a finding about this provision, and the links go to a search of the Sentencing Council’s own site.

Prosecution figures

No published per-offence figure was found for this provision, and it could not be matched to a Ministry of Justice offence code. Offences created by statutory instrument very largely do not have one. Absence of a figure is not evidence that the offence is unused.

Status and lifecycle

Current status
Status not determined
Made
25 July 2002
In force from
15 August 2002
Extent
Not stated

How this was established: read from the text as made; no revised version available, so later revocation could not be ruled out.

What the instrument is for

(This note is not part of the Order) — the explanatory note published with the instrument, © Crown copyright.

This Order is made under sections 3 and 5 of the Transport and Works Act 1992, and it relates to those rivers in the Wye Catchment which are “inland waterways” (a term defined in that Act). An illustrative map of the Wye Catchment is attached to this Explanatory Note. Part II provides for there to be a statutory advisory committee, which must be consulted by the Environment Agency on all matters substantially affecting the operation of the rivers as inland waterways. It also provides for the Agency to prepare and publish a plan setting out its policy regarding the exercise of its functions with respect to those waterways under, or as a result of, the Order. Parts III and IV confer on the Agency certain additional functions in relation to the navigation and use of the river Wye between Bigsweir Bridge (the tidal limit) and Hay Town Bridge and the river Lugg between its confluence with the river Wye and Presteigne Town Bridge. These functions are in addition to the Agency’s general functions, exercisable in England and Wales, with respect to— a water resources and water pollution, by virtue of the Water Resources Act 1991 and the Environment Act 1995; b flood defence and land drainage, by virtue of the Water Resources Act 1991, the Land Drainage Act 1991 and the Environment Act 1995; c fisheries, by virtue of the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975, the Environment Act 1995 and other enactments; and d conservation and recreation, by virtue of the Environment Act 1995. In carrying out these additional functions the Agency will be subject to those general provisions of the Environment Act 1995 and other enactments which apply to all of its functions, such as its general environmental and recreational duties under section 7 of that Act. Part V modifies the Agency’s existing power to make byelaws under paragraph 1 of Schedule 25 to the Water Resources Act 1991 (Byelaws for regulating use of inland waters) in relation to those parts of the rivers Wye and Lugg upstream of Hay Town Bridge and Presteigne Town Bridge respectively, and the tributaries of both rivers, which are inland waterways. Part VI contains a number of miscellaneous provisions, including the repeal of some local Acts of Parliament, or parts of them. The repeal of the two oldest Acts set out in Schedule 2 (ie those enacted in 1662 and 1695) is subject to two savings in relation to the upper rivers and the tributaries; the saved text is set out in article 38(2) (in relation to the 1662 Act) and 38(3) (in relation to the 1695 Act).

Read the full note and every offence in this instrument

Other offences in the same instrument

How this was identified as an offence

Everything above rests on the judgement that this provision creates a criminal offence, rather than mentioning one. That judgement is made by rule, from the words of the provision, and this is the rule that made it — with a confidence of 0.92.

Basis
the provision says a person is “guilty of an offence”
Confidence
0.92 of 1.00

A provision that states a penalty for an offence created elsewhere can read very like one that creates an offence, and the rules can mistake the one for the other. If the text quoted above sets a penalty for something made an offence by another provision, treat the classification on this page with that in mind, and read the instrument.

Check the source